“Sinners” 

(Period Horror: 2 hours, 07 minutes) 

Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Miles Caton and Hailee Steinfeld

Director: Ryan Coogler  

Rated: R (Strong bloody violence, sexual content and strong language.)

Movie Review:

Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan have teamed up to create good movies. The notables are the excellent “Fruitvale Station” (2013), the righteous “Creed” (2015) and the heroic “Black Panther” (2018). From an urban teen to a boxer teen to twin gangsters, Coogler and Jordan never disappoint their audiences. They do it again with “Sinners,” a crafty period horror written by Coogler.

After years in Chicago, World War I veterans and twin brothers Elijah and Elias Moore (Jordan, in a dual role), known as mobsters Smoke and Stack, open a juke joint in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on Oct. 15, 1932. They recruit some of the town’s most talented people to help them. This includes their cousin, Sammie “Preacher Boy” Moore (Caton), a young blues prodigy. Their club’s debut night is a success until unexpected guests arrive.

In a nice foreshadowing moment, Jedidiah Moore (Saul Williams), a preacher, tells his son, Sammie, “If you keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s going to follow you home.” Sammie’s singing and guitar playing is powerful enough to open corridors to the past, present and future. It is also enough to summon evil. When that evil arrives, all Hades breaks loose.

“Sinners” does something very few horror movies do effectively; it gives one a chance to know characters before the horrific moments commence. Director Ryan Coogler knows just how to make his audience wait for the most entertaining parts of this movie. What occurs is worth the wait.

Coogler helms an engaging cast that is phenomenal. More importantly, it looks like everyone has fun. This is especially true for Jordan. He shows he is a versatile actor with plenty of charisma, a leading man.

The movie works on multiple levels except for one part. A Ku Klux Klan scene takes place just after the plot’s apex. The scene appears an afterthought, a moment to enact some sort of cathartic relief.

Otherwise, “Sinners” includes nice visuals and plenty of action and horror thrills that make it worth it. This includes moments that happen during the end credits, so do not leave too soon. That extra scene adds to the story.  

Grade: B (Sinners and saints are welcome.) 

 

“The Wedding Banquet”

(Romance/Comedy: 1 hour, 43 minutes) 

Starring: Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran and Han Gi-chan  

Director: Andrew Ahn

Rated: R (Strong language and sexual material/nudity)

Movie Review:

“The Wedding Banquet” is an adaptation of a 1993 movie entitled the same and directed by Ang Lee (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” 2000). It is a good romantic dramedy. Often, it feels like a drama as comedic moments decrease as the story develops. It is a heartwarming movie dealing with relationships and parenthood.

In Seattle, Washington, Angela (Tran) and Lee (Gladstone), a lesbian couple, are desperately trying to have a child together through in vitro fertilization. Meanwhile, Min (Han) and Chris (Yang) are a gay couple striving for a more committed relationship. When Chris refuses Min’s marriage proposal, Min turns to Angela. Min loves Chris, but he is avoiding returning to Korea and dealing with his wealthy family. If he could marry and get a green card, he could remain in the United States. Min and Angela’s plan is solid until Min tells his traditional grandmother Ja-Young (Youn) about the marriage, and the regal matriarch insists on a traditional ceremony, not knowing the young couple’s marriage is a facade. 

The wedding banquet is amusing, but it is also a touching romantic drama that delivers plenty of surprises. The movie involves very richly developed characters played by a phenomenal cast that includes Oscar recipient Youn Yuh-jung (“Minari,” 2000) and Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon,” 2023), seasoned actress Joan Chen and Bowen Yang (“Wicked,” 2024). A talented Han Gi-Chan and Angela Marie Tran (“Star Wars: Episodes VIII and IX”) also join them, stealing scenes and becoming the leads of this enjoyable feature.

Director Andrew Ahn (“Driveways,” 2019) and co-writer James Schamus deviate from the 1993 movie, adding elements of surprise to this story. They make their characters interesting people you want to care about. Along the way, they provide humor and plenty of drama.

Grade: B (Join this ceremonial romcom with your plus one.)

 

“Sneaks”

(Animation: 1 hour, 33 minutes) 

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Laurence Fishburne and Martin Lawrence

Directors: Rob Edwards, Christopher Jenkins

Rated: PG (Action/violence, scary images and rude humor)

Movie Review:

“Sneaks,” as a title, reads like something one does not want their friends to know about. It is an animated feature about sneakers, particularly athletic shoes for basketball. The shoes talk and move like the toys in “Toy Story,” something humans are unaware of in this movie. Keep in mind, “Sneaks” is an animated movie aimed at younger audiences. Mature brains should realize this story is unconvincing.

Edson (Swae Lee) is a young basketball player who manages to win a raffle for one of the hottest shoes on the market, called Alchemy 24. The Collector (Fishburne), a connoisseur of athletic shoes, also desires the prized sneakers. After he steals Edson’s sneakers, the shoes are split up, and the male part of the pair of shoes, Ty (Mackie) must find his way back to his sister Maxine (Chloe Bailey). To do so, Ty enlists the help of a street shoe named J.B. (Lawrence). Together, they begin their quest in New York City to reunite Ty with Maxine.

The cast is a large group of talented people, but Martin Lawrence steals the show as J.B. He offers most of this adventure’s laughs as a scuffed-up sneaker. He is the ‘sole’ of “Sneaks.”

“Sneaks” is a beautifully animated movie with an adventurous story. The fact that the shoes talk is the weird part because they exist in a world where they do not want humans to know they converse with each other and can move on their own. This quandary creates two worlds that do not jibe. Again, it is an animated movie for kids, so logically, a narrative for adults was not the goal. Parents may feel the need to get a nap while the small fries just do it.  

Grade: C (Adults can sneak out once it starts and return for the ending.)

 

“Gunslingers”

(Western: 1 hour, 44 minutes) 

Starring: Stephen Dorff, Heather Graham and Nicolas Cage  

Director: Brian Skiba

Rated: R (Bloody violence and language)

Movie Review:

“Gunslingers” is a western that plays like the follow-up to a teleplay’s cliff hanging episode. It stars a well-known cast that, a seemingly reunion of who’s who from 1990s movies. It is poorly rendered for a screenplay. The underdeveloped story is choppy and contains thinly created characters. 

Outlaw Thomas Keller (Dorff) settles in Redemption, Kentucky, a place for reformed gunslingers. Spiritual leader Jericho (Costas Mandylor) guides the wanted men, offering them absolution. Their lives are peaceful until the arrival of a posse led by Robert Keller (Jeremy Kent Jackson), Thomas’ brother. Soon, the town is rattled by bullets and revealed secrets.

Brian Skiba (“Guns of Redemption,” 2025) is the director and writer of this flawed western with a premise but terrible execution. The worst part about gunslingers is an unconvincing story, where it takes a moment to adapt to what is exactly happening. This exists because of an array of interesting but feebly crafted characters. A prime example is devoutly religious gunslinger Ben, another over-the-top, eccentric character by Nicolas Cage, who appears out of place for the year 1907.

The good part about this “Gunslingers” is its lengthy gunfight, which is nearly its entire second half. That action is not enough. The rest of the movie is trite territory that plays like a comedy at points.  

Grade: D- (Plenty of guns, not much ammo.)